Prospective operation of tax rulings bars reassessment of covered past transactions under a final statutory determination.

Where a prior final ruling had directed that a Tribunal's order operate prospectively under section 52(2) of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, later assessment authorities could not reopen covered past transactions or apply a contrary construction of the same provision. The text states that the earlier judgment had attained finality after challenge before the Supreme Court, and that the impugned assessments related to transactions within the covered period ending on 20 January 2015, not post-determination transactions. The assessments were therefore unsustainable to the extent they denied prospective effect and disregarded the binding force of the earlier decision.

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Issues: Whether the assessment orders were liable to be quashed for denying prospective effect to the Tribunal's order and for treating the covered transactions as taxable contrary to the earlier final judgment granting prospective effect under section 52(2) of the Bombay Sales Tax Act.

Analysis: The earlier judgment had conclusively held that the Maharashtra Sales Tax Tribunal ought to have exercised discretion and granted prospective effect to its order, and that ruling had attained finality after dismissal of the challenge before the Supreme Court. The impugned assessments pertained to transactions covered by the period ending on 20 January 2015 and not to post-determination transactions. In these circumstances, the Court held that the assessing authority could not construe section 52(2) differently, reopen concluded matters, or proceed on a theory that the Tribunal's order merged with the Commissioner's order so as to shift prospectivity back to 2006.

Conclusion: The denial of prospective effect was unjustified and the impugned assessment orders could not be sustained.

Final Conclusion: The petitions were allowed and the assessment demands were set aside to the extent they disregarded the binding effect of the earlier decision granting prospective operation to the Tribunal's order.

Ratio Decidendi: Once a court has finally ruled that a statutory determination is to operate prospectively from the date fixed in that ruling, subordinate authorities cannot reopen covered past transactions or adopt a contrary construction of the same provision in later assessments.

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